Former Long Beach State forward Lassina Traore commits to Xavier

The Ivorian big man hopes to bring his outsized impact on the glass to the Big East.

First the news, this time from someone other than Joe Tipton because he is late on this one or possibly just has other things going on in his life other than photoshopping pictures of college basketball players:

Traore arrives at Xavier with one year of eligibility left after beginning his college career at St. Louis before two award laden seasons at Long Beach State, picking up a First Team and Second Team All-Big West selection as well as Big West Newcomer of the Year and a selection to the Big West All-Tournament Team in his time there. Traore is an absolute monster on the glass at both ends, having hauled in 230 offensive rebounds over the past two seasons and ranking in the top 85 nationally in both offensive and defensive rebounding rate over the last two years. He does not block a ton of shots, averaging 1.1 per game for his career and at a rate of 2.1 (roughly the same as Sasa Ciani), but his ability to kill possessions makes him a valuable defensive asset. Offensively, he is unpolished at first glance, sporting a shooting line of .533/.250/.692 for his career, but a deeper look indicates the role he figures to play for Xavier my highlight his upside. Last season, Traore shot 67% at the rim, a mark that was better than every statistical qualifier Xavier had (but not Brad Colbert), but took just 50% of his shots there. For reference, Dailyn Swain took 53% of his shots last season at the rim in his role as a wing. Traore’s percentage on jumpers was 37.3%, which undercut his effectiveness on the offensive end frequently. A role on offense similar to that of Kachi Nzeh or Sasa Ciani, who took 80% and 77% of their attempts at the rim last season, would likely suit Traore well and highlight his effectiveness around the basket.

As for how his game will translate to the Big East level, his lone game against a Big East opponent to this point saw him put up 17 and 11 on DePaul in a win at Wintrust Arena this past November. He had 5 points on 1-8 from the floor against Arizona and Oumar Ballo in the NCAA Tournament this year, but did haul in 9 rebounds in his 24 minutes. He also posted 8 and 7 in an overtime win at USC and 12 and 10 in a victory at Michigan this season.

Traore brings less of a scoring touch than fellow transfer John Hugley IV, but his rebounding track record is among the best in college basketball right now and he figures to slot in alongside Hugely, Zach Freemantle, and Jerome Hunter to give Xavier a vastly experienced and versatile front court this season.